联合国大会未能强化生物武器条约

  

UN Conference Fails To Strengthen Biological Weapons Treaty

Lisa Schlein

Geneva

17 Aug 2001 20:15 UTC

 

Representatives from 56 nations have failed to achieve an agreement on strengthening a treaty to 1)ban biological and 2)toxin¹ weapons. The negotiators have decided² to continue working on a draft 3)protocol³ to the 4)treaty despite United States rejection⁴ of the existing text.

Delegates to the U.N. conference agree all productive work on strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention came to a 5)halt after the United States rejected the draft text. On July 25, the United States said the text was unacceptable and unfixable. It said the document would 6)endanger its national security.

Supporters of the draft protocol say the strengthened treaty would lessen⁵ the risk of 7)germ warfare⁶.

The conference chairman, Tibor Toth says after the United States 8)withdrew its support, delegates decided there was no point in continuing 9)negotiations⁷ on the document. "In the light of the U.S. concerns about the overall approach," Mr. Toth said, "it would be some sort of negotiations in a vacuum without the U.S. being engaged. They were referring to the overwhelming role the U.S. is playing in the industry. The U.S. has more than one-third of the global industry and in the defense⁸ area, which is disproportionately higher than others."

During this four week session, negotiators had hoped to put the final touches on a draft protocol aimed at strengthening the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. The treaty, which bans germ and toxin weapons, has no means of 10)enforcement.

Negotiators have been working for nearly seven years on measures to verify and monitor compliance⁹ with the treaty. Mr. Toth says negotiators wanted to wrap up an agreement, which then would be 11)submitted to a U.N. Review Conference in November. "We are not happy at all about the fact that in six and a half years we were not able to 12)wrap up the negotiations," Mr. Toth said. "Until a consensus¹⁰ is found, this is the expectation of states-parties, no one can declare that the job is done. What is important is that no one is trying to declare that the shop should be closed."

Although no agreement was reached, delegates did decide to continue talking. They agreed that future negotiations would not have to start from the beginning, but would be able to build on the existing text.

 

 

(1)      ban[bAn]n.禁令vt.禁止, 取缔(书刊等)

(2)      toxin[5tRksIn]n.[生化][生]毒素

(3)      protocol[5prEJtEkRl; (?@) -kC:l]n.草案, 协议

(4)      treaty[5tri:tI]n.条约, 谈判

(5)      halt[hC:lt, hRlt]n.停止, 中断vt.使停止, 使立定vi.立定, 停止

(6)      endanger[In5deIndVE(r)]vt.危及

(7)      germ warfare n.细菌战争

(8)      withdraw[wIT5drC:]vt.收回, 撤消vi.缩回, 退出v.撤退

(9)      negotiation[nI^EJFI5eIF(E)n]n.商议, 谈判, 流通

(10)      enforcement[In`fR:smEnt]n.执行, 强制

(11)      submit[sEb5mIt]v.(使)服从 vt.提交, 递交

(12)      wrap up v.掩饰,使全神贯注, 包起来

 

 

 

 

1 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

4 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

5 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

6 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？